Skipping Stones
by Port-of-Seas
Summary: Just the two of them, the stars, the bay, and a bunch of stones. A short little fluffy vignette between Robin and Starfire


**Skipping Stones**

By: PortofSeas

Disclaimer: No I don't own Teen Titan. Maybe someday I will.

Author's note: Okay, this is just a little side treat for anyone reading my long-running story Nightmare. Just a fluffy little vignette my friends forced me to write (I know where you two live!) So if the cuteness doesn't make you hurl, I hope you enjoy!

The stars twinkled serenely against the inky dark of space, shining down on the minute city protected by a single tower. In the grand scheme of things, each and every one of them was just a pawn of fate, space, and time. He'd hoped to rise just above that when he hid Dick Grayson away from the world. But all he had to do was look at the stars, and every now and then, they would let him in on a secret. Compared to the vastness of space, they were all inferior.

Robin stood, skipping rocks just outside the tower, unable to sleep. The stars above him seemed to watch carefully, eyeing the young titan. Robin glanced up at them, smiling inwardly. As insignificant as everything seemed, he had to admit, going to space had been pretty cool. All in all, he'd rather keep to his own little teenage world, which orbited around fighting crime, martial arts, and…other things.

The only thing cooler than going to space may be something that came from space.

Robin picked up a smooth rock and tossed it, listening to the soft _pop, pop, pop, splash _as it skipped three times. _Pop, pop, splash. _Only two that time.

He picked up yet another rock and tossed it, but like the last one, it only skipped twice before sinking below the dark surface.

"You are very good at this, Robin. Can you teach me to skip the rocks on the water as well?"

Robin jumped slightly at the honey-sweet voice and smiled.

"Sure Star," he replied coolly, thanking everything from the stars to the rocks that he hadn't blushed. The Tamaranian princess came and stood by him, their arms just a foot from touching. Alone, at night, that could never be close enough.

He handed Starfire a stone and demonstrated skipping it on the water. She tried to mimic him, but as they often tended to, her stone sank with a splash.

"Don't worry about it." He tried to comfort her, gathering more stones. "It's not always easy at first. Here," he handed her a stone. She tried again, but as before, it stubbornly refused to skip.

"It sank again," she said glumly. "Are you not certain I am doing something wrong?"

"Here, I'll show you." He placed yet another smooth stone in here hand, adjusting here grip on it. "Now, watch carefully."

He gently tossed his stone, careful to show her how to release it so it would pop over the water with the satisfactory number of hits.

It took her a few more tries, but eventually she got a couple of skips out of it. Robin's heart fluttered at the sound of her excited giggles, but he did his best to ignore it. Nevertheless, he couldn't help but notice how pretty she was, laughing in the moonlight.

"It skipped," she exclaimed, pleased with herself, wrapping him in a tight hug. "Oh, thank you, Robin!"

Suddenly his heart was beating faster than he could keep track of, and he could feel a hot flush creeping into his cheeks.

"D-d-don't mention it S-Starfire," he stammered, suddenly losing control of his tongue. She released him and he stumbled back, blushing a deep shade of scarlet. Starfire's cheeks had gone a pretty shade of pink, which only made him flush deeper. There was a slightly awkward pause, in which their eyes darted to and fro, anywhere but at their team member. Finally, Robin cleared his throat.

"So, uh…the starts are nice tonight." _Stupid! _He could have just asked her if she wanted to go grab a pizza, catch a movie, anything. But he had to talk about stars. Starfire didn't seem to mind.

"Yes, you can almost see Tamaran from here" she cooed in a voice that made him tremble.

"Really?" he said, glancing up. "Where?"

She pointed at the glittering expanse above them. Dimly, he could spot a soft star, barely visible in comparison to the others. He remembered his last experience on the alien planet, and the knot that had been in his chest upon hearing that Starfire was to marry someone else who she hardly knew and didn't like.

"Do you ever miss Tamaran?" he asked.

"Sometimes, my heart yearns for it greatly. But Earth is my home now, and were I to leave, my heart would yearn for Earth even more." She smiled at him, as though she genuinely didn't want his heart to calm down tonight.

Robin, feeling curiously awkward, picked up another stone and skipped it on the water, not really knowing what else to do at the moment. Starfire sat down on one of the large rocks, watching him. After a few seconds, Robin sat down next to here, still silent. He was usually so much more confident…why couldn't he just unlock his throat?

"When I first come to Earth, I was afraid that I would not fit in or make any friends," she told him. "I am very glad to have met you, Robin."

Feeling that it was his unspoken duty, Robin managed to unlock his tongue to share with her.

"I was afraid to fail when the titans first formed," he told her. "You know, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to live up to Batman. If you weren't here to keep peace when things got rough, it probably would have fallen apart."

"It is because we are a team," she said modestly. Yeah, a team. That meant he wasn't _supposed_ to feel any more strongly for any member of the team…

He nearly jumped, feeling her fingers gently brushing his. This was going too far, he needed to leave, wash his face, and calm himself down! This wasn't supposed to be happening, they were team members. He needed to stop this before it got started.

But the other, more impulsive side of him willed him to stay.

Starfire was staring out beyond the bay, blushing furiously.

"The city is beautiful at night, yes?" she babbled, trying to fill in the silence.

Daringly, he squeezed her hand and nodded.

"Yeah, between those lights and the stars, it makes a pretty romantic setting." Romantic? _Romantic! _If he could turn back time…

"I do not think we could ask for anything more beautiful tonight," she said cheerfully.

"Well, they're not the _most_ beautiful things out tonight," he glanced almost bashfully at her, expecting some sort of rejection at any moment. The last thing he had expected was for her to lean into him, practically cuddling his shoulder.

Had he said something right? Or wrong? He couldn't focus through the buzzing in his mind, clouding the rational thought he depended on when she wasn't around.

Almost unconsciously, his hand wrapped around her hair, fingering its silky smoothness through his glove.

"Robin," she cooed, lifting her head just enough to make eye contact. "I am very happy to be here with you."

He didn't try to resist the blissful smile that played on his lips.

"Me too Starfire," he replied.

A sudden desire filled him, stronger than any he'd ever experienced before. He wanted this so badly he could already taste it.

Hesitantly, cautious that she might not want it; he leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. The Tamaranian was taken back at first, but easily leaned in, closing her eyes.

There was nothing like a first kiss.

Fin


End file.
